Cold weather wreaks havoc across Europe

Dozens of people are thought to have frozen to death in extreme conditions across Europe.

• In Poland nearly 50 people, mostly homeless, have frozen to death in December as temperatures dropped as low as -18C, according to local TV. Police said 15 people died on Saturday.

• Ukraine reported 27 deaths while six people were killed in Germany where temperatures of -33C have been recorded. Düsseldorf International airport was closed. Airports in the Netherlands and Belgium were also affected.

• Forty per cent of flights have been cancelled from Paris, while snow covered the beach in Nice. Minimum temperatures reached -23C in some parts.

• In Spain runways were closed at Madrid's Barajas airport after temperatures fell to -8C and high-speed AVE trains were suspended between the capital and Barcelona, Malagá and Seville.

• More than 220 villages and towns in Bulgaria were left without electricity, and toppled trees cut power in several mountainous suburbs in the capital Sofia.

• An overflowing dam in the town of Zlatograd, also in Bulgaria, flooded the basements of several apartment buildings, the town's mayor told news agency Focus.

• Some 50 passengers were injured early today in Croatia when a brake failed in temperatures of -17C on a train, causing an accident at the main station in the country's capital, Zagreb, police said. One person was critically injured.

• In Moscow, where temperatures fell to -26C last week, relatively warmer temperatures of -13C brought heavy snow falls in the Russian capital, blanketing Red Square and the Kremlin. Up to 9,000 snow ploughs were said to have been sent out to clear the streets.